Heart Of Darkness
by FirstLove15
Summary: Takes place right after the last Episode The murder of One my version of the next episode Heart of Darkness. Delena!Meant to provide fun time until it finally comes on! lol Enjoy. Please leave reviews!
1. Chapter 1

My head was a mess. As usual. I made a swift exit after the conversation I had with Stefan. I told myself it was because I needed to get away, to think. It was partly true but I knew that the main reason was to get out before Damon got home. After Stefan asking me to say I didn't have feelings for Damon and me not being able to answer, I couldn't imagine facing him or to be in the same room with both of them. Once I made it back to the house I walked into the kitchen and stood for a moment listening to the silence of the house. My stomach began to twist as I remembered the days when the house was filled with chaos, family...and love. I thought of Jeremy and it sent a sting of tears to my eyes. It seemed that one by one I was losing everyone I loved in some way or another. Now that Alaric was not even staying at the house I was completely alone. Somehow I saw this coming.

I jumped when a knock at the door disturbed the screaming silence. My phone began buzzing in my pocket and I saw that it was Stefan trying to call. I hit ignore and opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" I asked finding Katherine standing on my doorstep.

"I was in the neighborhood." She shrugged. I rolled my eyes waiting for her to get to the real explanation.

She sighed. "I heard through the grapevine that you guys found white oak. I was curious to see how that was working out." Katherine explained.

"That still doesn't explain why you're here. Why didn't you go see Stefan and Damon?" I asked.

"Not up for a girls night?" Katherine smiled.

I gave in and stepped back for her to come in the house. She stalked through the front door. The sound of her heels loud against the hard wood. As usual she was dressed to impress. A more sleek, stylish version of me. Her hair, tumbling curls over her shoulder. She stopped and turned to face me.

"All alone?" She asked.

I suddenly felt a little weak. What had she really come here for? Had she finally decided to do me in? I wondered why she stood in my place the night we tried to kill Klaus the first time if she was just going to kill me off anyway.

She smiled, noticing the tensed up look on my face.

"Relax, I just wanted to talk to you." She said.

"About?" I asked. I sat down on the staircase to show that I was relaxed and not at all wondering if I was about to be killed.

"Well first, have you guys taken care of the originals? Is Klaus dead?" Katherine asked.

"No. Once again we came very close but...they stopped us. Again." I explained.

Katherine's shoulders fell a little.

"Also we've run into a huge problem." I told her. "We did manage to kill one original. Finn. About an hour after his death Sage and a vampire she created both died. Right in front of us."

"No stake?" Katherine asked looking shocked.

"No stake." I confirmed.

She began to open her mouth in question..

"It's the bloodlines. When an original dies, so does the entire bloodline." I explained.

"Of course." Katherine said. Her expression half fear and and half anger.

"Now Klaus and Rebecca have all the stakes me made from the white oak except for two that Damon is getting from Alaric. So, soon they will have all the remaining weapons that can kill them." I said.

Katherine sighed and crossed over the open hallway and took a seat a couple of steps below me. It felt strange being alone with Katherine. Talking to each other like old friends. As if she had never tormented me and everyone I love. I tried to muster up the anger I should have, to tell her to leave. Instead I watched as she settled in on the step and leaned her head back on the railing.

"So how is Stefan and Damon?" Katherine asked. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly showing a small bit of amusement in her question.

"Well Stefan is still hell bent on destroying Klaus and struggling with his blood problem. Damon is..." I was at a loss of words.

"Ah, Damon." She said, grinning up at me.

"What does that mean?" I asked, feeling my cheeks tingle with heat.

"Oh come on Elena. I know when Stefan was away with Klaus you became very close with Damon. It's very easy to see." She said, her voice purring with satisfaction.

"Of course we got close, it was just the two of us...that doesn't mean anything though." I said in defense.

"Really? I'm sorry. I must be mistaken. Maybe I thought you would eventually understand how I felt. They really are both so wonderful aren't they? You're right though. Just because you got close doesn't mean there's feelings." She said her eyes flashing in suspicion.

I opened my mouth to say something but no words would come out. The only thing I could see was the night Damon and I kissed. Just a few feet outside of where we were sitting.

"We kissed." I said, almost against my will. It just came out. I wasn't sure why I said it, gave her the satisfaction.

She looked up at me, but not in the way I imagined she would. I imagined a face full of triumph, or amusement. Instead her face fell serious.

"The only reason you can't admit that you love Damon is because you're afraid of change. You loved Stefan, and you were always angry at Damon for one reason or another. Something changed though, didn't it? You finally saw a glimpse of the truest form of Damon. The Damon that used to be. Before I met him. Before I ruined him." She said looking down, pretending to study the tips of her boots.

"What was he like? When you first met him?" I asked. It was something I always wanted to ask her. Something I always envied about her. She knew them both when they had hearts that were still beating. Before the weight of the world and time had warped them both into altered versions of themselves.

"Hardly at all what you would think. Aside from Stefan's ripper phase and his recent behavior Stefan has always been seen as the even tempered do gooder. Damon has always been viewed as cold, sarcastic and impulse driven. Which is true. When I met them, so long ago...they were both kind hearted, gentle. Innocent. I guess you could see that in Stefan more easily. Damon on the other hand. The boy he was then is buried so deep you're a lucky girl if you see anything close to it. Damon had a good heart. He loved his brother and his family. He wanted to do good for other people and when he loved, he loved deeply. His innocence ran deeper than even Stefan. That was one thing that set them apart. Stefan is good at seeing things for what they are. He keeps his head above the water and maintains this balance that's comforting. Damon, believe it or not is the romantic. He loves deeply, and sees things in such a beautiful way. A poetic way in which only a few us are lucky to see too. I think Stefan is more along the lines of compassion. Damon...is passionate. He's more tender, more breakable then Stefan. I ruined him." She said quietly.

"You feel guilty." I said before I even thought about it. I was shocked to see it so clearly.

She shrugged. "Maybe I'm getting soft in my "old" age." She smiled weakly.

Suddenly there was a bang on the front door.

"Elena, open up!" I heard Stefan.

"Come in!" I said, Katherine and I both standing.

He opened the door and came in followed by Damon. I felt my heart stutter. I wasn't ready for this. Both of them zeroed in on Katherine.

"What are you doing here?" Damon frowned. He looked up at me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I assured him.

"Just came by to have a friendly chat. Twin power and all that." She grinned.

"This is probably the worst time for you to be in town Katherine. Your game is stay away from danger and you just walked right into it." Stefan told her.

"What's going on?" I asked noticing the urgency in both Damon and Stefan.

"It's Alaric. He hid the last two stakes that we need to return back to Klaus. As luck would have it Judgy the witch failed on her brew. Apparently Alaric went Jekyll on us while we were out." Damon said.

"You look a little pale." Katherine said to Damon. I had noticed it too.

"I had a rough night." He said sharply. I could tell he didn't like Katherine here.

"So what are we going to do?" I asked.

Stefan crossed his arms over his chest, the way he always does when he's thinking his way out of a problem. "We need to see if Bonnie can figure out an alternate plan as far as a Alaric is concerned. Before that, we need to wait for his other side to come out and see if we can't get him to help us locate the other stakes. Unfortunately that means we are going to have to strap him down or cage him so that we can interrogate when he's changed. I've already discussed it with him and he's agreed."

I shook my head. I couldn't stand the thought of Alaric going through all of this, He didn't deserve it.

"I think we should use this mishap to our advantage." Damon said.

"Meaning?" Stefan asked.

"Meaning, we tell Klaus exactly what's going on so he can see that we aren't posing the danger to them anymore. We are all in danger. Hopefully we will gain some time from that and he won't start attacking us or Elena. If we have the extra time we need to get to the bottom of this bloodline thing." Damon said.

"Katherine, do you know who turned Rose?" I asked.

"I honestly have no idea." She answered.

"I know someone who might." Damon said. We all looked at him. "Jeremy, the boy who sees ghost." Damon said smiling.

"I'll go. I'll go see him. I remember Bonnie saying Klaus threatened Jeremy. I need to go make sure he's okay, anyway." I said.

"You're not going alone." Stefan said.

"You guys need to stay here and take care of everything else." I said.

"I can stay here. I can take care of it. Damon's been bled dry of vervain. He's too vulnerable right now. Plus, this is between me and Klaus anyway." Stefan looked at me. There was an expression on his face that I couldn't read.

"So, Denver it is. Thank god I need a vacation." Damon said.

Katherine turned and smiled at me. "Have a good trip."

**Please leave reviews! :D Next chapter will be up soon. **


	2. Chapter 2

Damon sat back in the plane, head back, eyes closed. I looked at him closely. In this still form I could really look at him, for as long as I wanted. I noted the way his dark hair played around his face. Flipping outward the tiniest bit around his ears and the back of his neck. His long dark lashes resting on the top of his cheekbones. He was of model beauty. I imagined him on a Banana Republic ad, standing in front of a college campus. The kind where they have a few gorgeous guys casually holding tennis rackets and wearing overly priced sweater vest. No, maybe he was more of a cologne model. I shook my head realizing what I had let my mind wonder to and looked out the window. We soared quietly over a blanket of clouds. The sun was still in its early morning light, peaking slightly over the edge of the clouds. It seemed like a very long morning because we were flying into the west.

I thought back to earlier that morning. I woke up and finished packing. I tried to call Stefan three times. Three times he didn't answer. I knew he was avoiding me. I knew he had arranged this trip with Damon coming with me on purpose. He's trying to push us together to see if anything will happen. Maybe to see if I can give him a definitive answer about how I feel.

"Morning sunshine." Damon said walking into my room holding two warm cups from the coffee shop . I took mine and sipped it. It was rich and there was a hint of cinnamon. I welcomed the buzz of the caffeine hitting my system.

"Oh, tell me you got like five cups of this." I said holding the warm cup close.

Damon grinned. "We've got about an hour drive north to get to the airport. So we'll get you more once we get there." He said.

I reluctantly sat the cup down noticing we were running a little behind schedule. It was at that moment that I began to take little notes in my head, began to pay close attention to the changes that had taken place between Damon and I. From before and after Stefan. From before and after our kiss. The first thing I noticed was how he made his way over to the bed and began to fold the cloths I had laid out and was putting them in my duffel bag. Before, that would have annoyed me, felt intrusive. It didn't now. It felt natural. It felt comfortable.

"I tried to call Stefan. He isn't answering his phone." I said as I crossed over to the closet.

"He's totally dodging you." Damon said with a dramatic gasp.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "I think he is." I said.

"He's busy. Trying to save the world and what not. Don't worry about it." I heard the hint of annoyance in Damon's voice.

I stared into my closet trying to make sure I had gotten everything. Damon walked up behind me.

"Were only going for a couple of days, take it easy travel Barbie." He said over my shoulder.

I laughed but I couldn't help but notice the feel of him standing behind me. His chest against my back. I almost leaned into him. I had to stop myself from it.

"Make sure to bring a coat. We need to get going." Damon said, suddenly turning and walking away. I realized I was holding my breath.

I got the rest of my stuff together quickly and we headed out to the car. On our way to the air port I finally relaxed completely. I realized that this time I was spending with Damon was reminding me of the time when Stefan was gone and it was just the two of us. I took a deep breath and imagined we were back in that time.

Finally the plane came in for a landing and we spent a good amount of time trying to rent a car. Damon, of course wound up compelling the rental clerk out of the newest and nicest car without filling out one line of paperwork. Usually I'd be against it, but I was tired of being at the airport and ready to see Jeremy. We arrived at a hotel close to where Jeremy was staying. It was nice, almost too nice. We made our way up to the front desk and I couldn't help but notice when Damon placed his hand on my back as we moved through the crowd. It turned out that they were booked solid due to a soccer playoff that was happening but there was a last minute cancellation for a room. For one room.

Damon grabbed our bags and we made our way up to the room on the third floor. Walking in I was taken aback by how big the room was. There were french doors leading out to a small balcony over looking an amazing mountain range.

"Oh wow, Damon look at this room." I said walking over to the bed and tossing my bag. I dove onto the bed. "Ugh, I'm so tired. I hate planes." I said.

Damon looked like he was concentrating on his cell phone. He looked up and smiled. "Maybe we should get you something to eat besides peanuts." He grinned. He looked back down at his phone and frowned sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I can't wait to see Jeremy. He said to meet him over at the house he's staying at. He's staying with some family friends. Luckily they went on some kind of hiking thing today so we'll be able to ask questions without being discrete." I explained. When I didn't get a response I poked Damon's back with my toe. "You okay?" I asked. I sat up and moved closer to him.

"Stefan is gearing up to interrogate Alaric tonight. If he changes over to his evil side of course." He looked back down at his phone. I assumed he was looking at the text from Stefan that confirmed that.

I put my hand on his shoulder. "You're worried about Alaric?" I asked.

He laughed, almost darkly. "No, I'm just thinking if your witchy little friend had done the cure right the first time we wouldn't be dealing with this." He said. He stood up and jerked his jacket off the bed and put it on.

"Damon. You can just tell me you're worried about him. I am too. I care about him, so do you." I said.

"Are we going to go see your brother or are we going to sit here and play psycho analyzer?" He said sarcastically, grabbing the keys out of his pocket.

I sighed and followed him out of the door.

**CAROLINE**

Caroline waited until she heard her mom leave before she emerged from her bedroom. She had made dodging conversation with her mom and absolute art. One she was quite proud of. She made her way to the kitchen, adding in a few drops of vervain into her coffee and drinking it down quickly. She winced from the burn but knew it was all worth it in the end. Then she heard the front door open quietly. She turned in a panic. She had been nervous ever since Elena had texted her with a simple warning. Katherine is in town. She listened as the footsteps made there way towards the kitchen door.

She listened, weighed the sound and decided the steps were too heavy for Katherine. That's when they appeared and the joy she felt was instantaneous.

"Tyler!" You're back?" She squealed and ran jumping into his arms.

"Hey, I wanted to surprise you." He smiled, resting her feet lightly on the ground.

"Well, great job!" She laughed.

"I've missed you so much Caroline. I think I've gotten things under control, I really do but I couldn't wait any longer. I had to see you." Tyler said this so sincerely. The way he looked into her eyes she could barely breath. He picked her up again and kissed her, walking towards the bedroom. Once they made it in he laid her down. Kissing her lips, across her jaw, down her neck. She was so wrapped up in Tyler she barely had time to hear her mother come back into the house.

"Caroline!" Her mother called.

"Great timing." Caroline hissed. Tyler laughed quietly and tip toed to the bathroom.

She walked out into the hallway. "Yeah, whats up?" She asked her mother who was making her way down the hall. As usual dressed head to toe in uniform.

"I just forgot my badge. I wanted to remind you I'll be home late. I'm going to be going through the evidence again for the murders that have been happening." She said.

"Okay. Love you." Caroline waved trying to get her to leave.

Sheriff Forbes nodded. Used to her daughters quick dismissals. After she left Caroline walked back into the bedroom. Tyler stood by her bed. His face looked strained and angry.

"Tyler? What's wrong?" She asked, nearing closer to him.

"What the hell is this?" He asked, his voice seething as he pointed to the bed.

To Carolines horror, Tyler had found the gifts that Klaus had sent her, including the pictures he had drawn of her.

"What the hell is going on?" Tyler asked.

**BONNIE**

Bonnie sat at the grill, picking at food in front of her that she had no appetite for. She had spent hours going through books trying to find a new cure for Alaric. She came to the grill to clear her mind hoping it would help her find the answers she needed.

"Bonnie?" She heard Stefan's voice behind her. She cringed a little, knowing that what he wanted was an answer and she didn't have it yet.

"Hey." She said as he came and sat down across from her. "I don't know yet, Stefan. I've been trying. Truly. I just came here to get a break." Bonnie explained.

"No, no it's fine Bonnie. Take your time. We have to wait out Alarics' other side anyway so that we can find the other stakes." He explained.

"Always a disaster going on." Bonnie shook her head.

"Always." Stefan said.

Bonnie noted the sound of sadness in his voice. More than usual.

"Does the fact that you seem like you're about to cry have anything to do with Elena being out of town? With Damon?" Bonnie asked, smiling lightly.

Stefan shrugged. "I've got plenty to worry about here, it is what it is." Stefan said.

"Oh give me a break Stefan. If you want her back just cut it out with the self loathing. You know good and well she loves you. Hell she's been fighting for you this whole time. If you want her back just tell her." Bonnie said, feeling slightly better for getting that off her chest.

"Yeah...I kind of already did that Bonnie. She has feelings for Damon." Stefan explained.

"It was one kiss! Stefan stop thinking the worst. Ask her directly if she has feelings, you're over reacting." Bonnie laughed.

"Yeah...I kind of did that too. I told her to tell me she didn't have feelings for Damon. She couldn't answer me. She couldn't say that. It doesn't matter what I do, or how hard I fight to get her back, none of it matters if she has feelings for someone else." Stefan said.

Bonnie was speechless. She had wondered about how Elena felt about Damon, but with everything that had been going on lately they hadn't had time to really talk about it. Upon reflection she remembered the morning they were trying to re create the privacy spell when they had Caroline stand outside of Elena's room. She remembered Elena being fired up about Damon sleeping with Rebecca. Now that she thought about it, it was probably less anger and more hurt that Elena was feeling.

"Stefan, I'm so sorry I didn't know." Bonnie said, feeling her face flush with embarrassment.

"No, it's fine." He said.

**ELENA & DAMON**

We had been with Jeremy for an hour before we finally got down to business. We sat at the house Jeremy had been living at with some family friends of ours. It was a very nice house nestled at the foot of the mountains. I felt comfort in knowing he was in a good place. So far everything seemed to be peaceful. I still had to figure out just how many people were here watching him now that Bonnie had told me Klaus knew where he was.

"So let me get this straight, you came all the way across the country to get me to talk to a dead vampire?" Jeremy asked.

"Dead vampire is redundant, but...yes." Damon answered. "We need to talk to Rose. Were trying to figure out who turned her into a vampire so we can get our bloodlines straight." Damon explained.

"We came all this way to make sure you are okay, Jeremy." I clarified. "I miss you. Klaus mentioned you to Bonnie, he seems to know you're here." I told him.

"Everything's fine here. I've been having fun. I have friends and hobbies. A dog." Jeremy smiled at me.

"Okay...so...Rose." Damon said getting the conversation back on track.

"Okay, it takes concentration. Especially trying to talk to someone specifically, I can't even promise I can do it." Jeremy said, looking from Damon to me and back.

"It's okay Jeremy. Just try." I said.

"Try very...very hard." Damon said, almost like a warning. I elbowed him.

Jeremy sat for a while with his head down. It was so quiet the sound of the clocks ticking became loud. Finally he looked up.

"Rose it here." He said.

Damon and I looked around expecting to see her but knowing we couldn't. "Where exactly?" I asked.

Jeremy gestured to the open chair next to him. "She says hey. Damon she said thank you." Jeremy said.

"For what?" Damon asked.

"For being so kind to her and for putting her out of her misery." Jeremy said.

I looked over at Damon. I saw him swallow hard. I could tell that what she said had an effect on him.

"Tell her I'm glad she isn't holding a grudge." Damon smiled.

"She can hear you Damon." Jeremy laughed. Jeremy looked over to the spot where Rose was sitting. "You what?" He asked suddenly, his face falling serious. Then he started looking around.

"What happened?" Damon said, sounding irritated.

"I lost her. I- I lost concentration." Jeremy said looking stunned.

"Well get to thinking!" Damon snapped.

"Damon stop it. We can try later." I said. "What did she say Jeremy? That made you lose concentration?" I asked.

He paused for a minute just looking at me. "I couldn't understand it. Sorry." He said. I could tell he was lying but I decided I would wait until later to ask, when it was just the two of us.

We went out for dinner and managed to have a very nice time. Damon's mood seemed to lighten up a lot while we were out and I found us laughing often. I felt a million miles away from Mystic Falls and it felt good. Aside from all the bad things happening it felt good to escape it even for just a little bit. Even if it was selfish to think that.

After dinner we went to drop Jeremy off at the house. I got out of the car to give him a hug. He pulled me in close and hugged me tight. I missed him so much and it felt so great to be near him again. I didn't know how much longer I could stand for him to be away.

"She said she was rooting for you and Damon." Jeremy whispered in my ear.

I pulled back. "What? That's what Rose said?" I asked.

"Yeah. That's why I lost concentration." Jeremy said.

"Don't be mad. Were not ….anything. I just..." I didn't know what to say.

"I'm not mad, Elena. Actually I hope that maybe this helps you understand the confusion of feeling something for two people. Like Bonnie and Anna for example." Jeremy said. I met his face. His eyes were sincere. "Elena. I love you so much. I always will. That's why I have to tell you this. Stop trying to be so right all the time. Stop trying to keep every little thing in it's place. Life is a mess. An absolute mess and sometimes it's in this chaos that we create that we find beauty and happiness. I know you love Stefan. You guys have a past. I know Damon has made you mad and he's done wrong but sometimes you have to wipe the slate absolutely clean and just do what makes you happy."

After we made it back to the hotel I took a long shower. I had to process what Rose had said, what Jeremy had said. I still just felt so confused. My head was still a mess. I decided to think of nothing. Nothing but the hot shower. I got out, dried off and put on the usual tank top and shorts for bed time. I walked out and found Damon standing in the doorway of the french doors.

"Hey, come check this out." He said waving me over. I walked over to him at the door way. I wrapped my arms around me when the cold air hit me. Without hesitation he took off his jacket and wrapped it around me. "Look at this view." He said pointing out off the balcony.

The mountains in the distance were violet in the dying daylight. The sky a deep periwinkle, dotted with stars.

"It's beautiful." I said. I could see him look over at me. I felt my face burning. I strained not to look back at him.

"I'm worried about him." Damon said after a few quiet moments. I looked at him. His eyes were soft but concerned. "You were right. Alaric is basically my best friend. He's a good guy. There's a lot of crappy people in this world but it seems that the bad things really happen to the good ones. Even more to the ones I love."

My stomach flipped when he said that. I turned and walked into the room taking the jacket off and throwing it in the chair.

"Elena?" Damon said following me in. "Are you okay?" He asked.

I turned and faced him. "I talked to Stefan last night. He said he loves me still. He wants me back." I told Damon.

I don't think I would ever be able to pick apart the expression he had on his face as he stood in silence looking at me. There was only one part of it that I recognized. Pain.

"Well, congratulations. Of course the entire world saw that coming but I am very grateful for the formal notification." He said, his voice strained.

"Were not together." I said.

His eyes narrowed in question.

"Stefan thinks I have feelings for you." I said, feeling my whole body shake with nerves.

His face fell serious and he walked closer until he was standing only a few inches away. His face grew soft but his eyes were wide with anticipation. "Do you?"

Tears formed in my eyes so quickly I could barely see, because the answer was as plain as day when Damon asked me himself.

"Yes." I said. Before I knew it I was wrapped in his arms and his lips were pressing into mine. I stumbled back onto the bed. He hovered over me, kissing me so deeply I thought my heart would stop. My fingers tore through his hair.

"I love you." He whispered.

I sat up, gasping for breath. I looked at him, his eyes wild and more blue than ever. I looked at him in silence for a minute. I wanted to know that what I was saying was the truth.

"I love you, too." I said.

His eyes fluttered closed with my words. He opened them again, shining with tears.

"I missed Stefan so much. When he was gone I just wanted him back. Somehow while I was looking for Stefan I found you. I find myself missing you. All the time. Just the time that we had when it was you and I...against the world it seemed like." I said through tears. Damon smiled lightly. "I love Stefan and I love you. I feel sick. I feel so torn." I cried. "I thought I was getting over our time but then when you slept with Rebecca. I thought I was going to go crazy with jealousy." I told him. My face burned.

Damon frowned. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I wanted to ...at the time. I just didn't really believe you cared." He said.

"I love you both. I'm no better than Katherine." I whispered, choking on fresh on coming tears.

Damon smiled. "That is not true." He said. He lifted my chin. "Hey. That is not true." He said again.

I leaned forward, wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

We wound up talking for another hour but soon I grew exhausted from jet lag. I had fallen asleep, hours later I felt Damon slide into bed. I felt him touch my hair and then he took my hand. I listened until I heard the even breathing as he fell asleep. This was chaos. A chaos that had me wild excited, scared and I knew the next couple of days and especially the next couple of nights were going to be ones I would never forget.

**Please leave reviews. If you guys like it I'll continue writing on it. I have a cool idea. I was thinking about throwing a new girl character into this. Im kind of tired of Damon being so damn available to her. Haha, lets give Elena a challenge. Instead of a love triangle...a love cube? Lol Leave reviews, we'll see. Thanks :)**


End file.
